Rai Benjamin’s silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the Paris Olympics was changed to gold on Friday, August 9 2024 at the Stade de France.
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He was 0.29 seconds slower than his silver-medal performance at the Tokyo Games three years earlier, but it was enough to defeat defending gold medalist and world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway.
He repeated his seasonal best performance of 46.46 seconds, finishing 0.6 seconds ahead of Warholm in second place for silver. Alison dos Santos of Brazil won bronze.
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The 27-year-old had been dealing with injuries for much of the past year. A nerve flare-up in his back caused problems in his quadriceps, causing him to rest before the global championships a year ago.
That’s why some track fans predicted he wouldn’t perform well in Paris.
“It does suck to see people doubting your abilities, not knowing the full story,” he told me. “A lot of things happen off the track that no one sees.
But, he explained, “This is about proving myself right.”
“Doing it here means a lot. “I’ve been doing it all season,” he explained.
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